Car Epics (2)

I've been reminded by some of you that I missed The Epic of Gilgamesh out of my list of epic poems to listen to in the car. Quite right - to be honest, I didn't realise that it was even available as a talking book. But it is. Luckily. I'll add more details about the actual recordings later, when my Amazon.com package arrives.

0 - Sîn-leqi-unninnī: The Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 1350 BC)

a) translated by N. K. Sandars (1960)
read by Richard Pasco
Penguin Audiobooks, 1996
2 cassettes (abridged)

The first translation of Gilgamesh I ever encountered - it's still one of the most readable. It's a real shame that these Penguin Audiobooks haven't been re-released on CDs. there's some excellent recordings among them. This is one of the best.

b) translated by Stephen Mitchell (2004)
read by George Guidall
Recorded Books, 2004
4 CDs (unabridged)

A vivid new translation, and a fine reading. What they don't tell you, though, is that the last two CDs are Mitchell's critical discussion of the poem, rather than extra bits of the story. A nice complement to the Sandars translation, then, but I don't think it entirely supersedes it.